Getzlaf's hat trick lifts Ducks to 5-3 win

The New York Islanders' Matt Martin (left) battles for the puck in front of the Ducks' Sami Vatanen (right)goalie Frederik Andersen on Saturday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.PAUL BERESWILL, GETTY IMAGES

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Frustrated over a fruitless first two periods and seeing a winning streak put in peril, Ryan Getzlaf vocalized it with his Ducks teammates and saw it wasn’t the best course of action.

The thing to do Saturday night against the New York Islanders was take matters into his own hands.

Getzlaf simply willed the Ducks to a franchise-best eighth straight victory with a third period that will drive him further into the Hart Trophy conversation as he rallied his team to a 5-3 win Saturday night at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Ducks (26-7-5) broke their previous mark of seven straight wins, accomplished twice previously before this current string. And their captain made sure it didn’t end, sparking a four-goal third and delivering his second hat trick.

“I got caught a little during the game, being a little negative with the group,” Getzlaf said. “In certain situations, I was getting a little frustrated. It was at the point where I just needed to keep my mouth shut and do my thing and try and help our group in a positive way.”

The Islanders got goals from Thomas Vanek and Frans Nielsen just 57 seconds apart late in the second to grab a 3-1 lead. The Ducks stared at a two-goal deficit for the first time since Nov. 30 at San Jose.

All it did was set the stage for Getzlaf. After scoring on a rebound in the second, the big center went to the net again to put in another rebound past Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov just 1:10 into the third.

Mathieu Perreault scored for the second straight night to the tie the score, 3-3. Then Getzlaf won a faceoff in the Islanders’ end. Kyle Palmieri jumped on the puck and blew past defenseman Andrew MacDonald before beating Nabokov with 6:16 left.

Palmieri celebrated his homecoming to New Jersey by beating the Devils with a dramatic overtime goal Friday and then came right back with another winner. Four of his six goals have been decisive in Ducks wins.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind if it was more of them,” Palmieri said. “Definitely it was nice to get that one tonight.”

Getzlaf finished the comeback with an empty-net goal to match his hat trick Nov. 8 against Buffalo after going his first eight NHL seasons without one. His four points give him 43 for third in the league behind Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Chicago’s Patrick Kane.

“He just put it upon himself, that he was going to (carry) this team and everybody rode with him,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He was the catalyst for sure.”

Ducks backup Frederik Andersen made 18 saves to improve to 9-1, becoming the third goalie to win nine of his first 10 games. Frank Brimsek did it for Boston in 1938 and Bob Froese repeated the feat in 1983.

The bigger feat is a winning streak the Ducks hope to stretch to nine when Boudreau coaches his first game in Washington since being fired by the Capitals in 2011 before taking the Ducks job three days later.

Told that it is something the Ducks’ 2006-07 Stanley Cup champion never did, Boudreau quickly retorted, “Well, we haven’t done what the ’06-07 team did either.”

The New York Islanders' Matt Martin (left) battles for the puck in front of the Ducks' Sami Vatanen (right)goalie Frederik Andersen on Saturday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. PAUL BERESWILL, GETTY IMAGES
The Ducks' Mathieu Perreault (left)checks the New York Islanders' Matt Martin into the boards on Saturday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. PAUL BERESWILL, GETTY IMAGES
New York Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabakov protects the net against the Ducks' Nick Bonino on Saturday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. PAUL BERESWILL, GETTY IMAGES
The Ducks' Daniel Winnik (right center)battles for the puck with the New York Islanders' Andrew MacDonald (left center) on Saturday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. PAUL BERESWILL, GETTY IMAGES
The New York Islanders' Thomas Hickey (center front) knockes the puck between the Ducks' Andrew Cogliano (front) and Saku Koivu as Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov defends the net on Saturday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. KATHY KMONICEK, AP
The Ducks' Corey Perry (center) celebrates Ryan Getzlaf's goal against New York Islanders during the second period on Saturday at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. KATHY KMONICEK, AP

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